The Chinese horoscope · the twelve animals·7th of twelve
The Horse
馬mǎ
- Branch 午 · wǔ
- Fixed element: Fire
- yang
- Hour: 11:00 to 13:00
- Direction: S
In a word
Free, sociable, always on the move.
What tradition attributes to it
- They like moving, travelling, changing the air around them.
- Sociable, enthusiastic, they set the mood.
- Frank, they say what they think in the moment.
- A hard worker when the subject grips them, tireless.
- They need space, literally as much as figuratively.
The other side
- Inconstancy: they get carried away, then let go.
- Impatient, they don’t listen to the end.
- They spend, money and energy alike, without counting.
In love
A quick, sincere lover, they commit all the way and then need air. Don’t hold them on too short a rein: they come back of their own accord to whatever leaves them free.
At work
Made for what moves: fieldwork, travel, sales, sport, everything lived outdoors or in a team. A closed office and a routine make them miserable.
What helps
Finish one thing you have started before you launch another, today. Just one. Note what it changes.
By the element of the year
- Wood Horse: more cooperative and more reasonable, better over the distance.
- Fire Horse: the most spirited, brilliant, unpredictable; tradition dreads this one, we mostly find them full of life.
- Earth Horse: steadier, more reliable, they finish their races.
- Metal Horse: the most independent and the most stubborn, refusing any bridle.
- Water Horse: more flexible, funnier, changing their mind with their mood.
The Year of the Fire Horse
This year for the Horse
This is its return year, the běnmìngnián: the animal of the year is its own, which happens every twelve years. Chinese tradition calls it delicate and advises wearing red. There's nothing to show that a return year goes any worse than another; what you can take from it: don't force things that year.
The same element as its own this year: tradition sees it as a boost, and the flaw that comes with it gets doubled too.
Chinese tradition reads the year by comparing this animal with the year's animal, then their two elements. It describes a mood, not events.
The years of the Horse
- January 30, 1930 → February 16, 1931Metal Horse庚午
- February 15, 1942 → February 4, 1943Water Horse壬午
- February 3, 1954 → January 23, 1955Wood Horse甲午
- January 21, 1966 → February 8, 1967Fire Horse丙午
- February 7, 1978 → January 27, 1979Earth Horse戊午
- January 27, 1990 → February 14, 1991Metal Horse庚午
- February 12, 2002 → January 31, 2003Water Horse壬午
- January 31, 2014 → February 18, 2015Wood Horse甲午
- February 17, 2026 → February 5, 2027Fire Horse丙午
- February 4, 2038 → January 23, 2039Earth Horse戊午
From Chinese New Year to the last day of the Chinese year. If your birthday falls in January or early February, your animal is often the one from the year before: check your birth date in the list.
With the others
- Its affinity triangle: the Tiger and the Dog. Three animals four years apart, who understand one another without effort, says tradition.
- Its secret friend: the Goat. The quiet pair, the one that gets along without showing it.
- Its opposite: the Rat, six years apart, directly across on the wheel of the twelve animals. Not a ban: a difference in pace, one you can learn to work with.
Traditional affinities, not verdicts. Two people are two whole charts, not two birth years.
The Year of the Fire Horse: its return year, the běnmìngnián. Tradition calls it a delicate year for people born under this sign and recommends wearing red. We pass it on without attaching any fear to it.
And you?
Your sign is based on the actual date of Chinese New Year, and your birth time gives your animal of the hour.
See my sign